Intel and Advanced Micro Devices swapped roles in a third quarter that wasn't as bad for shipments as some had initially feared, according to new data from Mercury Research. AMD had been making strides in the server market for several quarters, while Intel dominated the notebook market. But momentum swung the other way in the third quarter, with Intel regaining market share in server processors while AMD's notebook processor shipments surged, said Dean McCarron, an analyst with Mercury Research.

Even though a lot of people look down on the Sempron's, they are quite capable chips. They Are really just cahche limited Athlon64's. Most think that buying a laptop with a Sempron is like buying one with a Celeron. Thats not true. Even though they are both cache limited chips, the Sempron is a workhorse. I've owned both a Celeron 2Ghz laptop and a Sempron 3000+ 1.8Ghz laptop and my AMD runs much more like a desktop in terms of speed, whereas my Intel bogs down with just a couple apps open.